Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Raises Holdings in Fastenal Company $FAST

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) by 33.0% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 20,067 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,979 shares during the quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Fastenal were worth $843,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FAST. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Fastenal during the fourth quarter worth $496,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 11.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,694,000 after purchasing an additional 2,240 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 55.4% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 364,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,282,000 after purchasing an additional 130,071 shares in the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Fastenal by 10.9% during the first quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its stake in Fastenal by 17.6% during the first quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 3,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fastenal Stock Up 1.2%

Fastenal stock opened at $42.46 on Friday. Fastenal Company has a 1-year low of $35.31 and a 1-year high of $50.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.26 and a quick ratio of 2.12. The stock has a market cap of $48.73 billion, a PE ratio of 39.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $47.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.03.

Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 13th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.01). Fastenal had a net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 32.69%. The business had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Fastenal Company will post 2.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fastenal Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 28th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 28th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Fastenal’s payout ratio is 82.24%.

Insider Transactions at Fastenal

In other news, insider Jeffery Michael Watts sold 48,724 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.05, for a total transaction of $2,341,188.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 11,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,834. The trade was a 80.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John Lewis Soderberg sold 34,612 shares of Fastenal stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.03, for a total value of $1,662,414.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 90,178 shares of company stock worth $4,336,603 over the last three months. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fastenal in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $82.00 price target on Fastenal in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Northcoast Research assumed coverage on Fastenal in a report on Thursday, August 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Barclays set a $45.00 target price on Fastenal and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Loop Capital reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Fastenal in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fastenal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.50.

About Fastenal

Fastenal Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the wholesale distribution of industrial and construction supplies in the United States, Canada, Mexico, North America, and internationally. It offers fasteners, and related industrial and construction supplies under the Fastenal name. The company’s fastener products include threaded fasteners, bolts, nuts, screws, studs, and related washers that are used in manufactured products and construction projects, as well as in the maintenance and repair of machines.